Brain Food – How to enhance your performance

What we eat at work directly correlates to how we perform. At The Clubhouse we’ve updated our menus to help you maximise your productivity.

Food is fuel – put the wrong kind of petrol in the tank and an engine can’t perform to its optimum ability. Knowing what makes our bodies thrive is understood by many of us – a low calorie, low fat diet, combined with an active lifestyle, is a well-established healthy approach. But what about our minds? Eating well can increase energy and focus, it can ensure a healthy immune system, resulting in reduced absenteeism, it can improve sleep, leading to greater concentration, all of which support good mental health.

It’s also been shown that the more portions of fruit and vegetables eaten per day, the happier, more engaged, and more creative we will be at work. In a study by the British Journal of Health Psychology, adults who ate more healthily over a 13-day period exhibited greater levels of well-being and also cited increased feelings of meaning and purpose at work. In addition, those who ate five portions of fruit and vegetables on at least four days per week demonstrated an increase in performance by 25% compared to those who didn’t.

At The Clubhouse, the well-being of our members is important to us. Because our aim is to make our members and their businesses more successful, not only do we offer complimentary fruit, we have also worked closely with our caterers to create a new menu that could have a tangible effect on your team’s productivity. When we eat foods that release glucose slowly, such as white bread and pasta, fizzy drinks and sweets, we have a blood sugar spike that gives us a quick burst of energy followed by a slump, which in turn leads to low energy levels and low productivity. How many times have you reached for a carb-loaded lunch and found yourself feeling sluggish soon after, unable to focus and feeling tired?

Seasonal, fresh, innovative, tasty food that stimulates your brain as well as your tastebuds is a better option, and we’ve worked hard to ensure our members and their guests can access thoughtfully designed food options to regulate energy levels and sustain concentration. Dishes that contain fibre and protein have been linked to increased productivity and attention spans, and steady blood sugar levels are linked to increased self-control – crucial when dealing with a challenging client or stressful negotiation. For breakfast meetings, our Yogurt Pot with Seasonal Berries delivers protein, minerals and probiotics to help the digestive system, increasing the amount of water absorbed by the intestines, improving hydration, while blueberries have a potent combination of antioxidants that improve memory and motor coordination.

Avocado, which features in our Mixed Wrap Selection, contains mono-unsaturated fats, which contribute to healthy blood flow, the main requirements for a healthy brain. Almonds flaked on to our new Cauliflower Salad contain phenylalanine, which can cross the blood-brain barrier where it stimulates the brain to generate natural mood-boosting neurotransmitters including dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline. Our Vegetarian Wrap Selection includes eggs, which contain a B vitamin called choline that enhances memory and reaction time – and the Aubergine Salad will keep your brain sharp by enhancing communication between your brain cells and messenger molecules.

In need of a quick snack? Our packets of Nutty Mix include almonds, high in riboflavin known to boost memory, walnuts, high in Omega-3 to help brain function, and cashews, high in magnesium, known to open up the blood vessels and therefore deliver more oxygen to the brain. If you do want to reach for the sweet stuff, dark chocolate has antioxidant properties that increase the production of endorphins.

Finally, lets not forget that throughout time, connections have been made around food. Whether over lunch or a mid-morning snack, people communicate and collaborate in an informal manner, exchanging ideas and developing relationships. We hope you enjoy the new, improved food selection on offer, designed to help you and your team make the most out of your time at The Clubhouse.

Planning an upcoming meeting? The Clubhouse has launched our new menu in The Deli at The Clubhouse, St James’s and The Clubhouse, Holborn Circus as well as new menus for all meeting room bookings. To view the menu CLICK HERE

This article was originally featured in The Informer – May 2019. To read the full magazine please click here